After the storms, the sunshine, followed by just a few scattered clouds. Andy Murray’s mood matched the weather here on Friday as he dismantled the walking crane that is 6ft 11in Ivo Karlovic in just under two hours to reach the fourth round of the French Open for the seventh time.
It was as if his 10-set survival course against old Radek Stepanek and young Mathias Bourgue earlier in the first week were no more than a bad dream, and he can now concentrate on the serious part of the assignment with the confidence he brought from Rome as the new Italian clay champion.
This was his first match on the dirt against the amiable ambler from Croatia, the first six having gone his way on grass and hardcourt, and he was pleased to get the job done 6-1, 6-4, 7-6 (3) to topple the oldest player left in the draw – after Murray had eliminated 37-year-old Stepanek in the first round.
“It was very close in the third set,” Murray said courtside. “Got off to a quick start, but he fought right to the end. I was glad to win the tie-break for a fairly quick match. I just tried to stay patient and take care of my own service game.”
Two years ago, Karlovic had to retire at this point of the tournament with a bad back, and he has yet to make the fourth round of this Slam. His serve is still potent – the 13 he struck here kept him at the top of the tournament leaderboard on 86 – but he is vulnerable against a quality opponent such as Murray, who undercut his backhand returns and occasionally struck hard and flat off the forehand.
So, after picking off the seniors here, the world No 2 made short work of the tallest man in tennis on a warm, close summer’s afternoon.
It was difficult not to feel sympathy for a fine athlete an inch under 7ft failing to get the ball over a three-foot net, but it was down to Murray’s artfulness. From the opening game, he targeted Karlovic’s ankles, also moving him side to side when able, and the points clicked for him as on a supermarket till.
Karlovic must have thought the tennis gods were on his case in his first service game when he was foot-faulted – an echo of a similar dust-up when losing to Murray at Wimbledon last year – and Murray was two-love up within seven minutes.
For the next 15 minutes, Karlovic, who had spent four-and-a-half hours on court against the stubborn young Australian wildcard Jordan Thompson in the second round, looked as if he had just run a marathon. When Murray lobbed him to break a second time, the big man, stranded mid-court, probably knew the quicker this ordeal was over the better. Still, he found a pair of aces – one on second serve – to stop the bagel, before Murray held to love to wrap up the first set after 25 minutes.
Karlovic was more effective in the second set, adding six aces, but only marginally so and again Murray – who had hit just a single unforced error in open play after an hour of one-way tennis – served out with ceremony.
Karlovic would not lie down (which might have taken some time) and he forced Murray through deuce on his serve for only the second time in the second game of the third set, but he held. However, the ranting went up a notch. “Hit the ball!” he screamed at himself after putting a simple forehand long and giving Karlovic a love hold, to stay ahead in the serving cycle. After an hour-and-a-quarter, Murray was under pressure for the first time.
He fashioned two chances to break in the fifth game, but could not finish his stubborn foe off. Karlovic was finally making a fight of it, and Murray held hold in the 11th game to stay in the set, then knuckled down for the tie-break.
If Karlovic were to keep the fight alive, he needed to crank up that big right arm and smack a few aces, but only one came from his side of the net. Murray hit his eighth to lead 4-2 at the changeover, and Murray pumped his fists to his box when Karlovic’s final return flew way long.
(Guardian service)
